The present invention relates generally to medicine distribution, and more particularly to a system and method for storing medicine for scheduled delivery to a patient.
Pill dispensers conventionally can accommodate several pills for multiple times and days. Typically the dispensers lay flat. To accommodate for multiple distribution periods, traditional dispensers contain a larger quantity of compartments, thereby increasing the size of the dispenser and thus occupying more space on the user's counter, dresser, or table. Moreover when using the larger dispensers, if a user would like to retrieve the pills from a single compartment the whole dispenser must be inverted if the pills cannot be retrieved by hand. The user may also have difficulty when loading and refilling the compartments with the correct dosage of medicine if the supply of medicine runs out before all compartments are filled. This creates a problem of determining which compartments are not properly filled and of those which types of medicine are needed to properly fill the compartment with the correct dosage of all medications needed.
People who rely on large amounts of medicine are often seriously infirm and may have limited abilities such as diminished memory, reduced sight and loss of motor controls. Being so, simple tasks such as taking a morning dose of medicine may be challenging and errors can have a significant negative impact on their health.